With 39 points from Kevin Durant and 34 from Stephen Curry, the Golden State Warriors defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers 129-120 on Monday night to win their second NBA title in three years and finish the series in five games.
Guided by a superb Durant, who earned his first NBA title, the Warriors won their fifth championship in franchise history after last year blowing an identical 3-1 lead to these same Cavaliers.
In five games in the Finals Durant scored 176 points (35.2 per game). The only player to score more points in a five-game final was Allen Iverson who had 178 in 2001 with the Philadelphia 76ers in a losing effort against the Los Angeles Lakers.
With this triumph, the Warriors take back the crown that they lost to the Cavaliers a year ago and completed a 16-1 run in the playoffs, the best postseason mark in the history of the NBA.
Durant, who left Oklahoma City last July to join Golden State in hopes of securing his first championship, earned MVP honors after finishing with 39 points, six rebounds and five assists. Durant had lost the 2012 NBA Finals to the Miami Heat, which was led by a LeBron James who back then earned his first NBA title.
It looked like it was going to be a tough match when the first quarter ended 37-33 in favor of the Cavaliers. In that stretch, an inspired LeBron led his team with 16 points, while the Warriors had Curry as their best scorer with 12 points.
However, the second quarter was utter domination by Golden State, who used a 27-4 second-quarter run to take charge. The Warriors outscored Cleveland 38-23 with an explosive Durant leading them with 21 points, followed by Curry with 20, to reach the halftime break with a 71-60 lead.
In the third, the Cavs responded and the Warriors’ advantage was reduced to five points (98-93) with LeBron (27 points) not giving up and matching Durant (28) almost basket by basket
The last quarter was a walk in the park for Golden State who did not lose focus, maintained its lead, and used its best players to win the game 129 to 120 and claim back the title.
LeBron finished with 41 points and 13 rebounds, followed by Kyrie Irving (26) and J.R. Smith (25).
The Cavaliers tried to become the first team to come back from a 3-0 hole in the history of the NBA playoffs. Last year, the Cavaliers achieved the biggest comeback in the history of the NBA Finals, when they rallied from a 3-1 deficit to defeat the Warriors in seven games for their first NBA crown.
The Warriors also won titles in 1947 and 1956 when the team was based in Philadelphia and took the crown in 1975 and 2015 when it was based in the San Francisco Bay area.
